Vehicle based arresting gear



Patented June 21, 1949 VEHIGLE. BAS;ED ARR ES.TING

Arthur-B: Sehultz, Wilmington, Del. assinowto llAmerican Ainways, Inc., a covporatimof! Delaware Application July 2, 194,6, Serial.Nm 6&1Q931.

6 Claims. l

This invention deals w-ith thearresting of vehicles and. isconcerned primarily with thetype of. arresting=gean which is based 011 the vehicle itself.

While the present invention wi11be explained in conjunction with aircraft; it is to be understood that it. is equally applicable to any type of vehicle where: it is desired that the vehicle itself car1-y ehe arrestinggear for emergency conditions. When anaircraft comes in to make a landing 01' takes ofiand things:g-oas they should, there. isv no needzforemergencyarresting apparatus. The devices:on theaircraft usually employed for slowing itdown such as the wheel brakes and/or the propellers are sufiicient for the Ordinary operations. When things do not go according 110 schedule and an emergency arises, io becomes desirable to:provide apparatus on the aircra.ft for bringingyibto a stop in such a man-.

ner as to not dama-ge the aircraft itself er cause injury to thepe rsonnelz This means that there must bea gradual decelerationof ehe aircraft.

Following this theory,-there has been proposed;

an arrangement in which an appropriate leng;th of a. line mad;e fromnylon ora comparable synthetic plastic ber in its;undrawn condiision has one end anchored toth.e aircraft. The daher end of this: line isyintended 1701'b82fl1'10h016d 110 the ground by devicescarried.on the; aircraft. When the anchorage isachieved-the line of und;rawn nylonor other synthetic plastic fiber-:funetiong tov gradually decelerate the plane. This line, elom gates and. as it elongates absorbs the ener y cf deceleration.

Withthe foregoing conditions in mind, this invention has in view, as its forernost objective, the provision of new and improved means for effecting a ground anchorage. Following this objective, the invention has as a further and more detailed. object the provision of means which is adapted 120 be carried. by an aircraft or other moving vehicle for efiecting an anchorage with the ground and which means includes as essential elements a spike 1:0 which the line is connected and. which is adapted to be driven into the gro.und surface together. with means for driving the spike.

Yet another object ofthe invention is the provision, in apparatus ofthe character aforesaid, of mechanism fordrivim; the spike under the influence of an. explosive charge. Various ther more detailed objects.and advantages of the. invention are tied up with this feature of driving the spike by an explosive Charge.

In order 1:0 efizect an.anchorage with the ground which will do the job required of it, namely, hold.

the end. 015 the line during the arxesting ope tion it is hig h1y impprtant;.that 1:1{1 spikehe:d riven in such amanner anc1 also be so affected; by; the tension of the 1ineas nqtpulloutof the ground. T0 the end ofachievipg thad*es ired resultythe line must beconnect;ed*to thespi;ke 513 an apprqpriate point; Accqrding ly; a further qbj ect f the invention is the provision, in arresting.appa ratus of the, character indicat ed, of a ground spike ha-ving IIIGQIISQEOISGQIID& line thereto at a point slightlyspacedfrom:the point or. nos e. of said spike.

These and other deizaedrobjects and advantages wil1- in .pa1;t "becomeapparent and in .part

inventionprocegds.

The invention; therefqre cumprises apDamtus designedyfor use;in vehi;cle ba se darresting gear and which consists ofra; gzound: engag ing spjlge, means-for driving the spike und?! 1 11e influenqe of an explosive charg e anda: con ngctionfon a decel; erating lineapprqpyiajsely located with respect to the.point 'o;E; the 5p i ke.

For a, full andmgre c;o mpl ete. unde1tstandin% of the invention ref6rencq mambe hadto the f011owing rde cription uch zcomnan ing drawings wherein:

Eig ure 2 is another:perspective showing the rel-.

Referr-ing new 1;0 Jhgd gawingg wherein like' reference. charactars.denqtemgresnpndin% part which is mierred:todmlila-emtjxelay :by:the.referernte charaeter A. Olwiouslm the=aircraft may= be of any type and regardless of the type of aircraft, it Will in all instances include a fuselage II) or other body structure which is adapted to have the arresting gear of this invention appliecl thereto.

Referring now more particularly to Figure 6, a tubular guide II is shown as being rigidly secured to the fuselage I by brackets I2 and I3. It will be notecl that the tube II assumes a, position in which it is inclined forwardly from the vertical. As this tube II acts as the guide for the spike which is to be driven, the inclined position allows for the forward speed of the aircraft and insures that the spike Will hit the ground with proper angular relation with respect thereto.

Referring now to Figure 7 in conjunction With Figure 6 it will be noted. that the lower forward end of the tube I I is formed with a slot I4 which is covered by a housing I5 which is open a1: the

Donnerkiel gun because the latter has certain attributes which particularly are adapted to the present usage. In a Donnerkiel gun the charge and the reaction mass are carried in the pro- J'eotile itself.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 4 and 5, a Donnerkiel gun in the form of a spike is there illustrated. The spike is referred to in its entirety by the reference character S and comprises a tubular body portion I6 of generally cylindrical formation. This tubular body portion 23-/ Spike Thus the continued puu which I 5 is open at the top as indicated ab I'I and closed at the bottom by a, pointed nose I8 which is o1 a more solid construction and secured to the body portion I 6 by the welded joint indicated at I9.

The tubular portion I6 of the spike S carries an ear 2%) formed With an opening 2I. This ear 26 projects through the slot I4 of the tube II into the housing I5. A decelerating line 22 (see Figure 6) has one end secured to the ear through the medium of the opening 2I. In order 170 hold the spike S in position in the tube I I, the housing I5 has its opposite side Walls provided With aligned. openings 23 and a frangible cotter pin 24 is passed through these aligned openings beneath the ear 20. The force which drives the spike breaks the cotter pin 24.

The explosive charge which drives the spike S is shown at 25 in Figure 5. This charge may be gun cotton, gunpowder or any other explosive capable of producing the desired results. A reaction mass 26 is positioned in the tubular body I6 against the explosive charge 25.

In order to properly d6celerate the aircraft A in a gradual manner so as not to damage it or cause injury to personnel, it is necessary to employ, as the decelerating line 22, a line which is capable of drawing or elongating and while so elongating absorb energy. Nylon in its undrawn condition has been found to be suitable for this purpose. There are other synthetic plastic bers which also may be used in their undrawn state to achieve the desired results. Among these might be mentioned polyethylene, vinyon, and vinylite. The particular line will be so designed as to diameter and length as to fit the requirements of the particular plane in which it is installed. These requirements will involve the weight of the plane and the speed at which it is fiown in lancling.

In any event it is impor'tant that the line be so arranged that it may pay out easily when the spike is driven. To this end the fuselage I0 is shown as being provided with a container 21 which is intended to receive the line in a coiled condition. It will be noted that the lower end of the container 21 is provided With a large flared opening 28 through which the line pays out. As above pointed out, one end of the line 22 is secured to the ear 20. The other end which is represented at 29 is anchored to the structure of the aircraft A at an appropriate point.

While the mode of operation of the above described apparatus is believed to be obvious, it may be briefiy outlined by noting that under ordinary flying eonditions, the arresting device herauf is not employed. It is intended to be used only for emergencies. Should the pilot be confronted With immediate danger, he may quickly bring the plane to a stop in a very short distance by merely setting Qff the explosive charge 25. This is preferably done by closing an electric circuit the control switch of which Will be located comveniently accessible to the pilot. As the charge goes oft the reaction mass 26 passes upwardly through the tubular body portion I6 and out through the tubular guide I'I to the atmosphere above the plane. The guide II serves to confine the reaction mass and prevent injury to the aircraft. At the same time the spike S is d1iven forwardly and downyvardly. Due to the force with which it is driven, it Will penetrate the ground as shown in Figures 2 and 3. As it penetrates, the line 22 cuts through the ground to assume a position substantially normal but slightly in excess of a right angle with respect to the erted on the line 22 by the airoraft A tends to cause the spike to dig further into the ground rather than being withdrawn therefrom. As the aircraft A moves forwardly and downwardly the 1ine 22 draws and absorbs the energy which is created incidental to the decelerating of the aircraft A. Obviously the line 22 Will have to be replaced with a new undrawn line after each usage.

While a preferred specific embodiment of the invention is hereinbefore set forth, it is to be clearly understood that the invention is not to be limitecl to the exact construction illustrated and described because various modifications of these details may be provided in putting the invention into practice within the purview of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. In vehicle based arresting apparatus, means for effecting a grouncl anohorage comprising a tubular guide adapted to be mounted on the vehicle to be arrested, said guide being formed with a slot at its lower end, a ground engaging spike in saicl tubular guide, a, connecting element in the form of an ear on said Spike and received in said slot, said ear being adapted to have a deceleratng line attached thereto, and an explosive charge for driving said spike.

2. In vehicle based arresting apparatus, means for efl'ecting a ground anchorage comprising a grouncl engaging spike consisting of a tubular body member closed at one end by a pointecl nose, an explosive charge in said tubular body member adjacent to said nose, a reaction mass in seid tubular body member engaging said explosive charge, and a, connecting element carried by said tubular body member at a point spaced a slight distance from said nose, seid connecting element being adapted have a decelerating line 0011- nected thereto.

3. In combination, an aircraft having a f.use lage, a tubular guide carried by said fuselage in a forwardly inclined position, the lower forward end 015 said guide being slotted, a housing enclos- Ing said slotted portion, a container carried by said fuselage, a decelerating line packaged in said container, a, ground engaging spike consisting of a tubular body member and a pointed nose, said spike being positioned in said tubular guide, an ear on said spike received in said slot and enclosed by said housing, one end of said decelerating line being connected 1:0 said ear, an explosive charge in said spike adjacent to said pointed nose, and a reaction mass positioned against said explosive charge.

4. In an airoraft; based arresting apparatus, means for effecting ground anchorage comprising a, tubular guide open below and above the body of an aircraft on which it is mounted, a hollow spike in said tubular body, a poinoed nose on said spike to promote ground penetration, an explosive charge in said. spike, a reaction mass in said spike engaging said explosive charge, line connecting means formed above said nose, and a line of elongatable material adapted to absorb shock While elongating coupled to said last-named means.

5. In an aircraft baseol arresting apparatus, means for eflecting a ground anchorage comprising an elongated tubular guide adapted to be mounted on the aircraft which is to be arrested with one end opening ab0ve a.nd the other below the aircraft body, a hollow spike body closed ab its tip in said guide, an explosive charge in said spike above the tip for driving the same into the ground, and a reactive mass in said spike back of said explosive oharge.

6. In an aircraft based arresting apparatus, means for efiecting ground anchorage comprising a tubular guide open below and above the body of an aircraft on which it is mounted, a. hollow spike in said tubular body, a pointed nose on said spike to promote ground penetration, an explosive oharge in saicl spike, a reaction mass in said spike engaging said explosive charge, line connecting means formed above said nose, and a line of permanently elongatable undrawn synthetic plastic fibers adapted to absorb shock while elongating coupled'to said last-named means.

ARTHUR B. SCHULTZ.

REFERENCES CITED 'I'he following referenlces are of record in the file of this patent:

UN ITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1108715 Davis Aug. 25, 1914 1957285 Oehmichen May 1, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 361,720 Great Britain Nov. 26, 1931 533,475 France Dec. 10 1921 589,723 Great Britain Feb 27, 1925 

